15 year old trailer tires

Joined
May 7, 2018
Messages
1,662
Location
Northern KY
I have two trailers, one a 5x8 mower trailer and the other a 16 foot car carrier I use for my tractor. Both have tires that are around 15 years old and both are stored out in the open where they get assaulted by UV and ozone daily. The difference in the tires is remarkable. The car carrier tires have plenty of tread but are deeply cracked and I just bought four new ones. The mower trailer tires on the other hand look like they were just installed yesterday. There’s not a crack or imperfection to be found on either of them. The difference in how well they have resisted cracking in the sun is hard to believe. I never would have thought there could be such a difference in UV resistance between brands of tires.
 
Honestly you are unlikely to wear trailer tires out. I replaced 4 tires on my 2014 travel trailer this year because of a bulge on 1 tire. A blowout isn’t worth the headache for ~$600. All 4 had plenty of rubber left.

Just my $0.02
 
On a side note:

Bias tires are much more forgiving than radial tires. Radial tires have a very high stress point at the belt edges.

Further, some tire manufacturers use a different type of rubber compound that is less prone to weather cracking. This type of rubber compound is prone to failure when used in high stress environments - like a radial passenger car tire or a radial truck tire.

Then there is the peculiar thing that small tires seem to have more stress resistance than large tires. I think it is an artifact of the way load carrying capacity is calculated. What that means is that on a trailer - for example - small utility trailer tires are less prone to failure than the HUGE!! RV trailer tires, I am a big advocate of upsizing trailer tires!
 
I haul a lot and had five blowouts just this year on trailer tires, one blowout with just 700 miles on a name brand trailer tire that was mounted just a week earlier (it was late afternoon 100 degrees out, doing 65 mph on the interstate, D rated tires on a axles that only required C, trailer was loaded to its maximum limit- but not over).

My experience is not just how old the tire is.... It is about weight, speed, and temperature. Hauling a lot of weight at high speed on a hot interstate- most trailer tires are exposed to blowout- even brand new. If that is your routine, mounting quality tires that well exceed the load rating and replacing the tires annually is a prudent move.

On the other hand. If a 5x8 utility trailer for a owner living near the coast in the pacific northwest- who is using the trailer doing runs local runs to the Home Depot picking up a appliance, or the dump after doing spring yard cleaning- ten year old tires likely just fine.

Its about weight, speed, and temperature when it comes to making a decision about when to replace trailer tires...... not just age/ date of tire manufacture.
 
Trailer tires are replaced every three years on my travel trailer. I have run many brands of Chinese manufactured tires and have towed all over the country and have never had a single flat or blowout. Weight-Approx. 5,000 pounds. But I never run at excessive speeds, curb hop, or run underinflated. All leading causes of trailer tire blow outs.
 
I bought a 10 year old used boat a couple of years ago. It had spent more time on the trailer than in the water by probably 100x. I stopped to buy gas and (as is my habit) felt the bearings and sidewall of both tires to see if they were hot. Neither was anything other the normal temperature for a summer day. Both were properly inflated. About five miles down the road one of them just came apart seemingly instantaneously, and with such force it shattered the plastic fender into pieces and actually bent the welded steel attachment away from the frame and tore a big hole in the tubing. Not a fun time that day.
 
I bought a 10 year old used boat a couple of years ago. It had spent more time on the trailer than in the water by probably 100x. I stopped to buy gas and (as is my habit) felt the bearings and sidewall of both tires to see if they were hot. Neither was anything other the normal temperature for a summer day. Both were properly inflated. About five miles down the road one of them just came apart seemingly instantaneously, and with such force it shattered the plastic fender into pieces and actually bent the welded steel attachment away from the frame and tore a big hole in the tubing. Not a fun time that day.

You didn't mention the manufactured date of the tires......
 
The 16.5” tires on my fathers wood trailer are 30 years old, just put an inner tube in them when the rims started to leak and they seem to work fine, just light feathering near the edge of the tread.
 
Someone above (GON) bought "D" tires where "C" were called for.

I wish I could do that with car tires.

EX: I'd buy an H103 instead of the cited H97 any day of the week even if it rode a bit rougher.
Snow tires are often 103 or 105 due to the weight of the snow.
 
Back
Top